New Hampshire is known as the “Magic Mile” but the magic the dominant driver had on Sunday wasn’t enough to get the victory. Unfortunately, the communication between the team and driver wasn’t magical when it mattered most.
Denny Hamlin had this race in the bag, not one driver could touch him on this afternoon. But a caution flag changed a lot of that theory. The race went under caution for a blown motor. The majority of teams decided to hit pit road, and that’s when the strategy plagued them. Hamlin believed he made the call for just right-side tires, and Hamlin came in to get…FOUR?
His crew chief, Darian Grubb, thought Hamlin said four tires, not two. Hamlin believed he asked for two tires, not four.
The miscommunication between the two dropped Hamlin from the lead to 13th, and just over 60 laps to go to make it back to the front. Four tires wasn’t the right call, but Hamlin sure was going to attempt to make the mistake forgotten, and he began his charge. The leader at the time, Kasey Kahne, knew that he had a strong car, but felt that if circumstances were right, and cautions played a role, Hamlin would be right there to challenge.
Turns out, Hamlin didn’t have the caution luxury. The lap 235 caution, so Hamlin had to do it the hard way…drive to the front.
And he nearly did it. He made it up to second, and could see Kahne in the distance. The charge to the front was one that Hamlin knew he could make, or was going to break the car trying.
Luckily, the second part didn’t happen. Kahne went onto victory, Hamlin finished second, scratching his head on what could have been.
This goes to show that often the dominant car can be plagued by problems, whether they be caused by another driver or self-inflicted. In this case, the self-inflicted issue was more of a “what were we doing” moment, and one that both Hamlin and Grubb will likely lose some sleep over in the days ahead.
RESULTS: 1-Kahne 2-Hamlin 3-Bowyer 4-Earnhardt Jr. 5-Keselowski 6-Gordon 7-Johnson 8-Harvick 9-Biffle 10-Newman
NOTABLE FINISHES: 12-Stewart 13-Kenseth 18-Edwards
CAUTIONS: 3 for 15 laps. Lap 90-93 (Debris), 191-196 (Debris), 235-239 (Oil on Track from #10).
LEAD CHANGES: 16 among 8 drivers. Kyle Busch 1-66, Hamlin 67, Gordon 68, Johnson 69, Kurt Busch 70-71, Hamlin 72-89, Gordon 90-93, Hamlin 94-153, Johnson 154, Keselowski 155-156, Kyle Busch 157, Hamlin 158-190, Keselowski 191, Kyle Busch 192-196, Hamlin 197-234, Bowyer 235, Kahne 236-301.
TIME OF RACE: 2 Hrs, 44 Mins, 24 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 116.226 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 2.738 Seconds
POINT STANDINGS/WILD CARDS: 1. Matt Kenseth, 707 points; 2. Earnhardt Jr, -16; 3. Biffle, -40; 4. Johnson, -51; 5. Hamlin, -79; 6. Harvick, -85; 7. Stewart, -89; 8. Truex Jr, -90; 9. Bowyer, -93; 10. Keselowski, -94. WILD CARDS: Kahne (12th, 2 wins), Kyle Busch (13th, 1 win).